Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Case on the Run
by Thirth Floor
Summary: When Ryan Bergara reappears on Shane Madej's doorstep after going missing for five months, he brings a frightening message that might just alter what they both believed. Now, unravelling their own unsolved mysteries, the danger grows beyond just finding evidence, and the duo is forced to become an Unsolved mystery of their own.


**Prologue**

The world had been a blur of red and grey for the past five months. Few emotions seemed to exist except for confusion, worry, and anger. Shane would wake up in the middle of the night feeling lost, find himself clenching a pen too hard in a shaking fist, or get lost in expecting the phone to ring at any second. It didn't help that he hadn't gone back to work officially since it happened. Of course, he had been given odd jobs, mysteries to research to be recorded later, but it was all so frustrating. It was hard to focus on ghosts and aliens seriously without Ryan there to lead the charge; it was all so ridiculous, and in light of what had happened, it almost made him want to spit on the cases themselves.

They had waited nearly a month before calling in. One day, Ryan just hadn't shown up for the recording session. Shane had waited two hours, calling and texting him relentlessly with no response. Finally, he contacted some of Ryan's close friends, just to see if they had heard anything either. Nothing.

After three days, they called his family. They had heard nothing. That was when everyone started to get worried.

Shane left it up to the Bergaras to call in the missing persons report. He tried not to be impatient while waiting, as he understood that police investigation took time, and as they said, "Mr. Bergara is an adult man, and while under odd circumstances, is permitted to make strange decisions." That didn't satisfy Shane, but he officially stopped pretending that it did when they searched the apartment and found it untouched. Ryan's wallet and keys were still there, and a piece of toast was still in the toaster, now popped out and cold.

Admittedly, what pissed him off most was the fans. Shane loved the fans of "Buzzfeed: Unsolved", he really did, but as much as they had tried to keep the details of the situation private, rumours did as rumours do, and they spread. No videos had been updated in months, for obvious reasons, and once the investigation set out, the team at Buzzfeed had sent out a brief tweet stating, "Due to some recent events involving some of the staff here at Buzzfeed, "Buzzfeed: Unsolved" will not be continuing for the new season. Please be patient with new developments."

Unfortunately, some of the fans were clever enough to start theories, as they normally do with ordinary "Unsolved" cases, and some frankly ridiculous ones began to spark up. Many of them believed that this was all just a technical issue, or that Ryan and Shane were planning something big for the new season, and made jokes about what would be happening. Even more made jokes that Ryan and Shane had been abducted by aliens, or had actually found ghostly evidence and were waiting to release it; even worse, there were theories that they had died. Shane's co-workers had encouraged him to stay entirely clear of social media, just so that fans wouldn't catch wind of what was really happening.

Shane tried not to let it get to him. He reminded himself that most of the fans were just kids, and that it was understandable since they didn't actually know what was going on. But he couldn't help it when the anxiety and irritation boiled over and he had to escape to be alone and let the feelings stew away. As much as Shane made fun of the cases they investigated, he did not like living out his own "Unsolved" episode; he imagined himself as one of the witnesses left behind, his picture blurred out while Ryan's voice narrated the things he would say to news sources later. The thought amused and disgusted him at the same time, and he hated the entire situation.

Just over five months later, on October 23, Shane dragged himself out of bed like it was any other lethargic day. He got ready in the morning, got dressed, and ate breakfast all in a haze. Food was tasteless, his clothes felt scratchy and there was a constant rushing sound in his ears that wouldn't seem to go away. He always pictured himself as more formidable than this, but the lack of closure was the most painfully bothersome thing, seeming to keep him floating between denial and grief. He couldn't decide on what to feel.

That morning, Shane opened the door to head in for another dull day of work, where he did his best, but deep down everything felt fake and wrong. He expected it to be just an ordinary Wednesday, as ordinary as a Wednesday could be without Ryan.

But this day became anything but ordinary, when he opened the door to see Ryan Bergara standing on his doorstep. He was wearing jeans, two mismatched shoes, and a hoodie way too large for him. His eyes were wide.

"Shane…" His eyes turned glassy, brimming with tears.

Shane was absolutely shell-shocked. "Ryan! You're alive? What happened?"

Ryan glanced around, before his eyes met Shane's again. They were uncertain, like he didn't feel safe where he was. Then he spoke again.

"I'm totally fucked up, dude."

And he collapsed.


End file.
